Recovery after Robotic Prostatectomy

One more comment for the guys who are just beginning to deal with this issue, or those that will, but have not yet been confronted with incontinence, especially related to RARP. At first, I was leaking like a fountain - the first few days I just wanted to stay in the shower all day. Later, the urine leakage was not like a baby who holds and then releases it all at once, rather, it is just a slow uncontrolled drip or dribble, supplemented by stress leakage when standing, walking, laughing, lifting, etc. The absorbant products deal with this well. While I carry a daypack with all my products, and am prepared for overwhelming leaks, that has not been an issue. The main issue is leakage from a overly saturated absorbant pad or underwear - and that is much slower and more manageable! If you are going to recover continence, it was/is a slow but steady process for me, i.e., After a few weeks, I began staying pretty dry at night, followed by improvements when sitting, and finally, increased urinary control during active periods. During the day, I urinate frequently at the first sensation. Early on I wouldn't even get a drip. This slowly evolved to a few drips, then a small short stream, and now I can control maybe 75%. I weigh my products and was leaking 2+ cups during the day, but after 10 weeks, that is down to 1/2 to 1 cup. So, my optimism for regaining control and needing no pad, or at least a light pad that lasts all day, is increasing! 7 weeks in, I wanted faster improvement so I connected with a PT who specializes in male pelvic floor/incontinence issues. I'm exceedingly pleased with how much she is helping me! Do your Kegals as well as the other exercises for core strengthening! One issue that I found when wearing an absorbant product is to change them frequently enough such that you don't stay damp all day. I cleaned myself often as I didn't want to get a fungus infection or smell too bad. It is a long road and there isn't a lot written about the details of the process. I'm sure it varies for most people, but if you pay attention to what's going on with your body and figure out a system you will get through it. After an RARP,
many of the nerves, signals and controls change, are numb, or just don't work and relearning is required - and this takes time. Good luck to all of you dealing with this issue!